SF Film Society re-ups, expands grant program

Partnership with Kenneth Rainin Foundation renewed and boosted

The San Francisco Film Society’s Filmmaker 360 program, which supports narrative feature helmers through grants, residencies and workshops, has landed a funding boost via the org’s renewed and expanded support from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.

Filmmaker 360 and its suite of services funded by KRF will continue to develop beyond its 2009 pilot period. First collab launched in January 2009 to distrib $3 million over five years; under the expanded relationship, SFFS/KRF grants will continue indefinitely at $600,000, and an additional $400,000 will annually go toward new projects.

Current SFFS/KRF programs include the FilmHouse residency, the SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grants and the Off the Page script workshop series.

“The vibrant and diverse voices of indie film are one of this country’s greatest assets, but without the backing of programs like these, our artists and their stories would wither and rust,” said SFFS exec director Ted Hope. “The support of KRF is vital to not just Bay Area film culture, but to the very fabric of indie culture on a national scale.”

Recent initiatives, such as FilmHouse, are showing sustainability, and looking forward, SFFS and KRF are looking to build new services to perpetuate its support of indie helmers.

Programs in the planning stage include networking events at film fests, a screening series built around social-justice films, a mentorship program, pitch-training sessions and SFFS labs.